


A series of events that caused a reveal and a downfall

by SerlinaBlack



Series: unrelated MLB stuff [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya sugar, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Chloé Is this .. fuckung close, F/M, He's such a mess he makes Mari look functional, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, I threw canon so far I can't even see it flipping me off, Identity Reveal, Is Kagami dating Chloe?, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi salt, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug is Called MDC, Marinette is MDC, adrien.... hon, is she a single free butterfly?, is she dating Luka?, who knows? not me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24701302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerlinaBlack/pseuds/SerlinaBlack
Summary: After no one in the class believing Lila is a liar, Chloe and Mari become close friends, Chloe snaps some sense in Adrien. And Kagami joins them on her own volition. This is what happens after Adrien realizes he's in love with MariRead the title buddy, I suck at summaries, It's funny if nothing else
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Nino Lahiffe, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Series: unrelated MLB stuff [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758016
Comments: 21
Kudos: 874





	A series of events that caused a reveal and a downfall

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so some things to be said at the beginning, Th Gabriel issue needs to be addressed. after they became friends, Mari and Chloe made a very detailed list of every way Gabriel is a bad father, and made a report to give to the CPS about Adrien's unfair work schedule. 
> 
> they have many many copies of this file and Mari, Chloe,Kagami and Luka all have a copy to send out at any given moment. 
> 
> Adrien confronted Gabriel and told him about Chloe and Mari having a copy but didn't tell him about Luka or kagami just in case he attacks either girl about the files. Gabriel stays out of Adrien's way so that he doesn't hand him over to the police.

Turns out staring at your ceiling for half an hour motionless while your Kwami's laughter is background noise doesn’t change the flawless painting of the ceiling nor does it make the crisis you’re having go away. Go figure. 

So after trying for half an hour Adrien begins to pace. 

The day was going great. It was a weekend and his father had entire months worth of business abroad, first in Milan, then New York , then London. So, for a long time, Adrien's schedule was free. They can give him work but really they can't force him to do anything they don't check. 

So Adrien took the first week to think, come to terms with his feelings for Ladybug that yes, it has been a while and maybe he did get over her and was just clutching on to the crush just for the sake of holding on. And He let go. It clearly wasn’t going anywhere. And after he vowed to himself to stay professional, him and Ladybug got along better than ever. Then there was the thing with their class. 

He realised a while ago that his advice was… trash. He just didn’t know how to go about and tell Mari he didn’t want her to stay silent anymore. His stupidity was solved though when his princess and Chloe began an unlikely friendship. Chloe slapped him upside the head, dragged him to Mari and made him apologize for his stupid mistakes and they became closer friends. Which is good news for him because this reduced her stuttering and flailing. But also bad for his heart because…. Well, he kinda sorta may or may not have developed a massive crush on Mari. 

...Where was he going with this? Oh right, the day was going great. Him, Mari, Chloe and Kagami were hanging out in a Cafe. Chloe must have said something funny because Marinette was laughing and he made the mistake of looking at her. The sun was shining on her face making her eyes sparkle even more than normal. There were little crinkles in the corner of her eyes. And Adrien lost his breath. There was a resounding thought playing on a loop in his head as he struggled to keep his heartbeat in control. So it doesn’t beat It's way out of his chest. 

'Fuck'

Adrien turned about and groaned. This is not helping. How the hell was he supposed to face Mari tomorrow knowing he's…… He shook his head. He needed help. And not from his cheese loving Kwami who's only advice so far was to eat cheese. So he takes out his phone and calls the only person he thinks to call. 

Thankfully she picked up fast.

"Chloe I need your help" 

"What is it Adrikins? Is Gabriel being a bitch again?" she asks sincerely, probably already taking some papers out. 

"No no! He hasn’t contacted me since he left. No, I just realised I'm in love with Marinette." Best to just jump straight to the point. 

There was a pause before Chloe answered, "Ok? What about it?" and to her credit, she sounded genuinely confused.

"Chloe! I'm in love with Marinette! I don’t really know what I should be doing!" 

"Is this like calling me to whine about how nice and pretty she is thing? " she still sounded confused for some reason. 

"No? I need advice on what I should do? Should I tell her? Or ask her out? Or just never mention it ever and try to get over her? " he stopped himself before he could go down the entire spiral again.

Chloe's pause was longer this time. When she spoke it was a simple "facetime me" before she hung up. 

The call took a while to get to him. When he accepted he realised it was because it was because it was a three way call between himself, Chloe and Kagami. 

"Luka's in practice. So we'll fill him in later. But this has to happen now." Chloe declared. Turning to glare at what he assumed was him. 

"Adrien told me he has a crush on Marinette." she announced to Kagami. Who, not knowing anything else about the previous conversation, blinks then frowns. 

"What? " her reply was flat. 

"He also asked whether he should ask her out or not." Chloe seemed to give Kagami a meaningful glance that Adrien had no luck deciphering. 

The japanese girl now looked aghast and apparently staring at him incredulously is something they can do in synchronization. 

"Are you telling me, you _aren’t_ dating Marinette already?" 

Wait what? 

"No? What do you mean already dating Mari? Why would you think that?!" It's time for _him_ to be aghast. 

"Well, maybe if you weren’t the Chat Noir to her everyday ladybug. I'd believe you. " Chloe waved him off. 

And what followed was half an hour of Chloe and Kagami assuring him of exactly how stupid he is being and he gets the feeling if Luka was there he'd join the girls. Not to say he got _why_ the girls dubbed him oblivious, but that's neither here nor there. 

"Alright, I still want to yell at him, but he also needs help. Where do we start?" Chloe cut herself off after half an hour when she realized they weren’t going anywhere with it. 

"Are you finally going to advise me about how to ask Marinette out? " he says, still wary. He feels like he's five and got paired up with that one mean photographer. 

"Yes. Obviously. I still cannot believe You're not dating, but the best we can do right now is just rectify the situation. " Kagami's arms were crossed. 

"Alright, hum, how about you start by walking her to and from school." 

"Oh! I already do that whenever I can! It's nice to spend time with Mari." 

"Alright, maybe start complimenting her more." Kagami wondered but Chloe made a buzzing noise, 

"You don't sit in class with them Kagami, if he compliments her anymore; we'll do nothing but listen to his sonnets odeing her talents all day." 

Adrien scowled at that. "I don’t compliment her that much! And besides she deserves all of it and more." 

"I can't believe I ever had a crush on you. " Kagami says flatly. 

"Maybe…. Wait no, if I tell you to spend more time with her you’d probably have to move in with her. " Chloe sighed. "Are you _sure_ You're not already dating? Because it sounds like you’re already dating. " 

"We're not." he sighed. 

"You could ask her to a movie? "

"No, the last time we went to the movie, we got mobbed and then there was an Akuma and that ended in a disaster." he sighed again. Kagami and Chloe exchanged another look he knew not what ment. 

"Alright, lover boy, you only have the gift route left. Shower her with gifts. Put that credit card to good use. " Chloe huffed out and Kagami nodded. Adrien hummed along, 

"Well I _am_ still holding onto that pendant that reminded me of her. I didn’t know if she'd appreciate me giving her accessories though since she does have her own fashion chain." 

He looked back at the screen at the sound of a loud bang. He saw Kagami Facepalming and Chloe's face on her desk. 

*****

Morning saw Adrien up as early as he can and rushed to school to make sure he doesn’t get there late. Just in case it's one of the rare occasions Mari's not late. He shoves the box in her locker before turning tail and practically running to their now empty class.

"You are absolutely pathetic." Plagg comments idly since there was no one around. Adrien pouts but says nothing. He's pretty elated, and nervous. Very nervous. What if Mari doesn’t like the pendant? What if it doesn’t match her style? What if she thinks _he_ doesn’t like her style? What if…… he stops himself from worrying when Nino walks in with a grin

All his worries return tenfold when Marinette walks… well stumbles in the class just barely making it in time. Alya calls out safe like a baseball referee and his princess giggles bashfully. Things with Alya and the rest of the class had been weird the last few months to say the least. 

It's not that they broke their friendship entirely like Lila said they would, but, ever since Chloe and Mari became close, they all kept their distance. After Adrien left his seat in the front to sit with Mari, some of them have been better, Alya, Nino, Juleka but the rest were still wary to forgive Chloe. But he thinks the fact that they distanced themselves from her at all hurt his princess more than she would admit.

"Mari where'd you get that necklace? It's so pretty! " Alya gushed when Mme. Bustier left the room. Oh good. Now that everyone would look at Mari, he could panic that she was _wearing his necklace._

Mari walked up front to talk with the other girls who just all gathered in the middle of the class. Sans Alix, who was arguing with Kim again, Lila, and Chloe who was walking towards him.

"When did you get that?" She whispers to him looking at all the gushing. 

"Uh- a month ago? The rose especially reminded me of her." he gets more and more red when he explains. The rose he was talking about was, pink cut crystal with red tips. There's a tiny white stone in the middle and the entire thing was twisted inside a silver metal structure.

"Huh, I didn’t know you had a good fashion sense. " 

"I'm a model Chloe. " he reminded her and he wasn’t pouting goddammit. 

"One with a horrible sense of fashion . " 

And then the phrases anonymous and secret admirer came floating in from the group surrounding Mari. And the relief that she liked the necklace melted into horror that he realized he didn’t sign the note. 

"You forgot to sign the note." Chloe said flatly. 

Adrien's face met the desk, "I forgot to sign the note."

He doesn’t have to look up to know the sound he heard was Chloe facepalming. 

*****

"If that's Garbagriel, remind him Mari and I did not in fact lose the files for our report to the CPS. " Chloe says lazily from beside him. Idly browsing through the shopping site. 

"No, it’s just Mari, She's worried about the show even though we have more than a week." he says with his usual lovesick grin.

"What'd she say you were modeling again?" Kagami asks from behind him, looking at the screen from Between both the blond's heads. 

"I'm right at the end with Mar and once in the middle ." he sighs. Then perks up as he remembers, "Oh, did I tell you father asked if I would be available to model for the Gabriel stuff." 

"You laughed at his face right? Tell me you laughed at his face." Chloe practically pleaded. 

"No, I told him Mari asked me first." he shrugged, "it didn’t look like he was expecting anything else. If it comes between him and Mari, I'm always picking Mari. He knows this." he huffs out. 

"What about these earrings? " Chloe offers sighing in disappointment of him not having laughed at his father's face, picking out a particularly neat one on her laptop. 

"No, she doesn’t take hers off. Ever. I think It's a family heirloom. " they click through the items until he sees something weird,

"Hey what's-" 

Chloe however quickly clicks it away, "no, nope, don’t look at that. Stay pure. Focus on your future baby mama." 

He stared at her incredulously for a while before returning his eyes to the screen,  
"Ooh! That looks cute." 

"Adrien that's taller than her, It's probably taller than _her father_ and that's saying something. " Kagami commented looking in over his shoulder. 

"Ok, but just Imagine her taking a nap on top of the fluffy bear. You can't deny that'd be cute. " 

Chloe looked like it pained her to admit, but she huffed, "I'm not saying it wouldn’t be, but that thing won't fit in her room." 

At that Adrien paused. Yes, maybe a seven foot plush bear wasn’t the best idea. He deflated. 

"Don't those come in smaller sizes?" really, Bless Kagami for having the common sense between the three of them. 

*****

He went with Chloe the next day. The box held tightly in his hand. The note double and triple checked to make sure he signed it this time. And Chloe to make sure he doesn’t chicken out at the last minute. 

"You know…. Maybe…." 

"Don't you fucking dare back out Agreste." Chloe growled. 

Adrien leaned back from her with wide eyes. 

"Just wanted to say I should wait till lunch since Mari's usually late." he squeaked out. _Mon dieu_ the woman is terrifying.

Chloe eyed him for a minute before relaxing, "Alright. But you better give it to her at lunch. " he didn’t get _when_ exactly did Chloe get that invested in getting him and Mari together, but when Chloe puts her mind to something, She's a force of nature. 

Of course it all becomes irrelevant by lunchtime because the class right before lunch was gym and Marinette fell from the climbing structure, winded herself and hit her ankle . The teacher was adamant she go home for the rest of the day even going as far as to call the bakery to make sure someone came to take her. 

Three guesses as to who was right on top of his princess when she fell. 

Adrien gritted his teeth when he heard no one believed Chloe when she said Lila kicked Marinette but in the end knew it was pointless. Lila had her claws too far in their classmates. Besides, they had a plan. 

So in the end the teddy bear became a get well soon present.

Of course Chat Noir visited the princess loads in the week it took her to recover. When asked how he knew Marinette was home sick he, of course panics and tells her he heard from Adrien. 

Marinette looks at him weirdly for a few seconds and then beams at him. His heart stopped for a moment when he thought she figured it out. But then she didn’t say anything else in that subject so he figured she didn’t know. 

She couldn’t have known. 

*****

She figured out his identity. That was it. There was no other explanation for this fresh hell She's putting him through. 

See, Marinette apparently some fabric off her pants when she fell from the climbing structure. So she decided, like the brilliant designer that she is, to forgo the entire ensemble and just go with a new look. 

A very ….black and green look. 

"If you wanted to design after a superhero, you should've chosen Ladybug you know. Or Queen Bee. " Chloe pouts at Marinette who looks absolutely devine in her new look. As, he thought somewhat hysterically, she would in any look, but oh, god _this one._

"We already talked about this Chloe, Agree to disagree about the best hero." she waved off the blonde. 

"And you think Chat Noir is the best hero." Kagami asks somewhat skeptically. Marinette huffs. 

"Well, he is to me. What do you think Adrien?" she turned to him. Pouting like she didn't just rob him of any sort of higher brain power with her green lined black skirt and black top with green embroidered paw prints. Like he isn’t just two second away from drooling all over his shirts. (Hmm, maybe he should, it is one of his father's designs.)

"Muh - guh?" was his intelligent reply. 

"You don't think Chat Noir is a good hero?" she sounded stern. And holy Kwami, who let this girl look this cute while She's about to chew him off. Seriously who? They had no idea what power they were playing with. 

"I think he didn’t mean that." Kagami sounds amused. Adrien shakes himself off from his daze. 

"I- I don’t think he's bad, but anyway! You wear black and green better than he does! He couldn’t ever hope to look half as good as you do right now." he says sincerely. 

"I see what you meant." Kagami whispers to Chloe, who snorts at his inability to function.

"It's ok then?" Mari tugs at a strand of hair (that she left loose. Lord have mercy on his soul) self-consciously. 

"You look amazing Mari. You always do." he smiles at her and she smiles back. 

"They're ruining my reputation as a stone cold bitch." Chloe comments to Kagami. 

"I don’t think I can even hold onto my title as ice queen at the rate they're going to melt my heart." The girl mutters back.

*****  
"-you guys had to have been there to see it, gosh it was so romantic. " Lila informs their friends at lunch. Adrien rolls his eyes. Marinette from his left doesn’t even look up from her sketchbook. The closer the show was getting the more frantic she got. Right now she was probably adding some last minute touches to a piece. Though she was scribbling furiously. 

Chloe looked on accross from Adrien with her face set to look bored, but if one knew her long enough, as Adrien does, they'd see she was listening gleefully to rub every lie their classmates believed on their faces when the time came. 

"They _are_ in the same grade as us right? It isn’t any mistake? why can't they connect such simple dots?" Kagami whispers to him. Luckily no one noticed him snort. 

"They….. Like Lila too much to see when She's lying, It's like she told Mari, she tells them what they want to hear, so they just don't question it. " he whispers back.

"Done!" Mari yelps and hurriedly hands the sketchbook to Kagami. "What do you think?" she grins at the other Noirette. 

"This is beautiful. Wait… is that me? Do you want me to…." she trails off and Adrien glances at the design over her shoulder. 

The design was traditional cheongsam esque. But there were definite changes made, the dragon motif was beautifully drawn on both sides from shoulder to waist. The part below the ribbon was flowey, with what looked like lace designs all over. The model wearing it in the drawing though, was Kagami.

He looked up to see Marinette duck her head shyly. She nodded, 

"I know it was a little last moment, but I made it with you in mind so it wouldn’t look as good on other models, or, well it wouldn’t look as I envisioned it but I get if You're busy! And yeah, maybe I should have….." she couldn’t finish before Kagami leaped across Adrien to hug his princess. 

"Marinette I'd love to." she assures. 

Adrien looks up from them to see Alya looking at Marinette and Kagami forlorn. He suppresses a sigh.

"So, after the picnic MDC walked me home. And he was such a gentleman about it too." Lila sighed, getting whatever attention was at Marinette and Kagami back to herself. 

Marinette looked up around the lunch table to see the entirety of their class there. Then she jolted remembering something. 

"Oh! Before I forget, our class was anonymously given tickets to the fashion show for the spring release." she announces and side glances at Adrien. He smiles back at her sheepishly. Marinette thought It'd be fine if their classmates found things out from the news, but Adrien wanted them to be there, After all, This _is_ Mari officially coming out to the public with her designs for the first time. and he had a feling they'd want to support her.

"Oh my god! That's amazing! Lila! You can introduce us to your boyfriend there!" Alya exclaimed. The whole table broke out in whispers and looked like they were agreeing enthusiastically. They somehow missed Lila's scowl.

"Oh, I'll see if I can convince him. He's a bit shy though. Although the whole thing is a little last minute since It's in two days ." 

"Oh, don't worry about, I'm sure everyone can make it with some minor rescheduling. " Rose enthused, the rest nodding eagerly as well. Marinette walked around the table handing out the tickets. 

"Oh, what about Kagami? she's not in our class, but..." Nino pointed out. Said girl glanced at the sketchbook in front of her before smiling at the rest, 

"I was going already. "

*****

Adrien would like to say for the record, 'screw Lila rossi.' Screw her for being a liar, screw her for being a bully and screw her for getting away with everything she does.

And screw her twice over for getting other people akumatized and having them going after Marinette the day before the spring release. 

And screw his father for stopping by for the spring release before going to New York so he had to squirm his way out of the house to go to the Akuma site so he was already late. He _just_ got his princess out of a cage made out of music notes when the Akuma turned his sights to him. 

He curses as his baton gets knocked over and he gets pinned. Ladybug isn’t even here yet, he can't just get caught by the akuma now. 

"Why don't you go pick on someone your own size! " his stomach drops to his knees and his heart soars at the same time as a trash can lid hits the Akuma in his face. And he rears back giving Adrien the time he needed to get his baton back and disorient the akuma further.

By the little window of time he had, he quickly picked up his princess and ran. 

"What were you thinking! The Maestro was after you! You can’t just let him hurt you! " he says as he sets her down on a rooftop. 

"Well, he was gonna turn you into a music note! And it worked didn’t it." 

"Marinette that's not the-" he took a deep breath, "I have to get back. Someone has to warn Ladybug and She's not even changed yet." he looked at his baton before he leaped from the roof only to be stopped when Marinette grabs his tail and pulls him back. 

"Wait! I have to tell you something! If I don’t do it now I'm gonna coward out again-" 

"Marinette I promise I'll be back after the fight, but ladybug needs backup right now-" 

"That's what I'm trying to tell you ladybug isn’t there-"

"What do you mean? Oh my god did she get hit? I need to go no-" 

"Dammit Adrien would you listen!" that made him pause and then wince. 

"So you _did_ figure it out damn it! " 

"I thought Adrien you and Chat you were dating at first but then-" 

"That's why you were torturing me with the outfit-" 

"Wha-wait a minute, torture? What- "

Just then there was a crash from where they left the akuma. 

"We'll talk about this later Princess, and I need to tell ladybug about you finding out-" 

"Oh for- Tikki spots on!" 

He turned back to her slowly. Then rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not hallucinating. 

"I can't believe I got over you to fall for you all over again." Was…. Not what he meant to say but he was kind of in shock, so sue him. 

Mari- _Ladybug_ scrunches her face up but before she could reply there was another crash. That broke them out of their revere. 

"We can talk after it's over? I'll leave the hatch open to my room?" she asks as she begins spinning her yoyo. Adrien nods dazed as he follows her. 

*****  
"Ok, spill. What happened yesterday, you’re practically floating." Chloe crosses her arms as her make up artist fiddles with her hair pulling it this way and that. 

"Am I? " Adrien tries not to move his face too much. His make up artist was being gentler but that was also possible because they haven’t started on his hair yet. 

"Adrien, my man, my buddy my pal-" Luka groans from somewhere behind him, he feels sort of bad for Luka and Kagami since they're new to the makeup thing but also he's glad he's not suffering alone. 

"- I thought the girls were pulling a prank when they said you two weren’t dating, but - ow! - then I saw you for the last week.-" what were they doing to him anyway, waxing?

"-But you have none of the tension today, and your heart melody calmed down. -eek- something had to have happened." 

"Alright. I may or may not have asked Mari out" 

"WHAT?!" He looked at the other models and Make up artists weirdly when they exclaimed along with his friends. They looked away sheepishly. 

"Uh…. Yesterday, after the Akuma attack, I went to check if Mari was ok. We talked and I blurted out I've been trying to ask her out for the last week and a half, she told me she had a crush on me for the longest time and we just… decided we'll go on a date." he shrugged. Then he pretended he didn’t hear a faint 'aww' from the far side of the room. 

"Finally!" Chloe threw her hands up nearly catching her stylist in the face. 

"Ā, tasukatta" Kagami muttred. 

"Oh thank god." Luka sighed out though whether it was from his answer or because his stylist finally let him go was anyone's guess. 

"Oh It's my turn- now- Now? But the- ok" his lady was led to Luka's vacated spot by an irate looking woman. 

"Hello Princess." he couldn’t get the dopey grin out of his face if he tried as she entered his field of vision. 

"Hi - my prince." she stutters out as the stylist starts on her makeup. 

"Oh, what have we done, we'll have to deal with this for the rest of our lives now." Chloe muttred. 

*****  
The spring release contained multitudes of designers, with those with more designs after those with less designs. Some independent designers went on first, they were only starting out. They're designs were a little amateurish but refreshing nonetheless. 

Alya wouldn’t usually be here, for one thing neither she nor the rest of the class would get the tickets to the spring release under normal circumstances. For another, Fashion isn’t really her thing. She's more into superheroes and chasing down the latest Akumas to get a scoop. ('It’s Marinette's thing'. A traitorous part of her mind reminds her and flashes her with the regret of losing the closeness she had with the designer)

She shook herself off and clapped politely alongside Nino when the first model from the Agreste line came strutting down the catwalk. It wasn’t Adrien. Apparently the model refused to walk for his father for the event. Alya, despite having nothing to do with it, found herself proud of the boy.

At the finishing of the Gabriel spring line Gabriel Agreste himself walked down with the last model. Alya wondered if MDC would be walking down the catwalk too. After all they were all here to meet Lila's boyfriend. 

She doesn’t know who gave them the tickets, it could be that MDC gave them, though Marinette did glance at Adrien so it could have been him too. Alya sighed at thinking about Marinette again. She wondered if her girl even told Adrien about her crush. They haven’t talked in so long. She looked around the room again to look for Marinette in the crowd. 

"You good babe?" Nino called over the speakers announcing some fashion lines from America. 

"Yeah- just, Marinette didn’t make it yet. She said she'd be here and you know… It's fashion. She loves fashion." 

"Yeah…. Maybe her seat's in a different row? " he suggested. She nodded, unsure. 

Lila grabbed Alya's hand, "I'm sure she'll be fine Alya, maybe she changed her mind last minute? " 

"No, not about fashion. Maybe I should-" 

"I think Nino's right Alya, we all had designated seats but neither Mari or Chloe or Adrien have a seat open for them, maybe they're in the front row?" Lila reassures. Alya nodded, that did make sense. Chloe would try and get the front row seats for the three of them. 

"Our final designer of the day, MDC; the design 'Dragonheart' modeled by Kagami Tsurugi." the hall burst into applause. 

"Oh! This is what she meant by she'll be coming here already? " Mylene clapped gasping. The rest of the class gaped at the beautiful dress she was wearing. The dragons stood from her waistline to her shoulder like they were guarding her. The designs on the bottom half looked incredibly detailed. 

"Huh, did you know Kagami was working with your boyfriend?" Alya couldn’t help but wonder out to Lila who looked slightly pale? Alya hoped the girl didn’t get jealous of Kagami. 

Kagami walked back down the walkway right as another model walked in, this time no one they knew. 

Of course then they announced again,  
"Luka Couffaine wearing MDC original 'Melodies'" 

"Oh, that's why he said I'll see him there." Alya hears Juleka mumble. 

There was not a single musical note on the boy's clothes but something about the entire style just made them think about music. 

Of course before they could get over the shock of seeing two people who they knew on the stage another curveball was thrown at them. 

"'The queen' is being modeled by Chloe Bourgeois " 

They all watch dumbfounded as Chloe strut down the walkway. Her clothes? 'The queen ' design at least didn’t look anything like her usual Malibu Barbie clothes, but also everything like it? Alya wasn’t making sense, and she would've asked Marinette why it was different if, you know, the girl was with them. 

Alya bit her lips again worried about the young designer. Then a thought occurred to her, if Chloe and Luka and Kagami were modeling today then maybe Mari would be too? But then that doesn’t make sense. If Mari was working with MDC wouldn’t Lila know about? Heck shouldn’t she have known about Chloe? She glanced at the Italian girl to see that she was paling even further. Then it occurred to her, maybe she wasn’t dating MDC at all? She blinked as another model walked in wearing 'sunset' but her heart wasn’t in the clothes. Her mind was racing. 

If Lila was lying about that, then couldn’t she be lying about everything else too? Couldn’t….. Marinette be telling the truth? 

She pulled out her phone and almost missed the announcement for Adrien as she took screenshot after screenshot of proof of Lila's lying. The only reason she knew Adrien was announced was because Nino elbowed her looking at her worried. She looked at her boyfriend who pointed at the catwalk.

"'The Prince'" he mouthed to her. 

And sure enough he looked regal. Like Prince charming. But Alya couldn’t focus on that. She clapped for Adrien who was looking at their group. He looked concerned when he looked at her. But went backstage like the rest of the models.

She first removed Lila from the class group chat and then sent the multitudes of screenshots in the group. Nino was looking at her, so he was the first person to take out his phone and check it. He read everything as far as she could tell, she could also tell the rest of the class was reading too. Some already glaring at Lila from where they were sitting. 

"And the showstopper Adrien Agreste in 'Sunshine' and for the very first time M-D-C in her design moonlight!" 

Alya and the rest of the class turned back to the front to see Adrien and Marinette walk down the catwalk hand in hand. They were both beaming. Adrien was obviously sunshine with the warmer tones in his clothes. it was a very light cream with the t-shirt he was wearing underneath peeking out from under the shirt. His pants were a soft beige. 

In contrast Marinette's sundress was in all sorts of cool tones. There was a mixture of silver and grey and white. All the embroidery was in a stark black that really set off the whole night and moon thing. 

'Marinette Dupain Cheng' someone mutters from behind her. She feels so stupid now. 

"So, Lila, you were dating Marinette then?" Alix chews out testily as the other guests stand to leave. 

"I'm- I'm so sorry guys I just wanted you guys to like me " she sobbed, Alya couldn’t for the life of her find a single ounce of sympathy for the girl. "So I just lied about the boyfriend thing, but-" 

"But nothing Lila. You lied about everything you ever told us. " Kim snapped this time. And that opened the floodgates to everyone in the class yelling at the italian girl. 

Except for Alya. She sat, numb with Nino rubbing soothing circles on her back. Trying and failing to hold back her tears. This. This girl is the one who she didn’t believe Mari for? This is the reason she alienated her best friend? 

Something caught her eye, from behind the stage a movement behind the curtain. Someone in the shadows beckoned her over 

Everyone was too busy with Lila to notice her and Nino slip away to the back. 

It was when she was engulfed in a familiar hug when she broke down to sobbing. 

"It’s ok Alya. It's fine. You found out the truth in the end. And that's what matters. " Mari sooths. 

"No, no it isn’t. I lost my best friend because I was too blind to see the truth. I'm- _god_ I'm so sorry Marinette." 

"I forgive you Alya, and It's not like you did anything on purpose, so can we try again? Can't we just be friends again?" 

Alya shook as she sobbed. 

"Come on Cesare. Even I'm agreeing to be friends with you so you better take the chance." Chloe butted in. Alya giggled and nodded. She'd take her chance. And she'll do whatever it takes to make it up to Marinette.


End file.
